Remember When: Memories were made those summer days

Remember how simple living was when we were probably 7 to 12 years old? I'm not just referring to my age group but to most of my faithful readers. The word "responsibility" did not weigh too hard on us but there were those we were expected to perform without being told to do. So think back those few (or many) years and let's review some of those, especially during the summer months when we were under "surveillance" 24 hours a day.

Thankfully, Kiki was my safety net and took the blame of my errors until Mother caught on and "straightened me out" by whatever means she deemed proper. With three, yes three parents I didn't have too much of a chance!

June 1 until the Tuesday after Labor Day was the most wonderful part of our year. Granted, June 21 is the first day of summer, or summer solstice, but that calendar notation made no difference to us. We just enjoyed the head start. It was completely normal to remember where we left off last year in the middle of a game, etc., to begin again with the same neighborhood friends, perhaps a new bicycle, or a new game someone received as a birthday present during the school year. Or - we could be very inventive and make up a new venture.

I'll have to confess, our (Peggy and Joanne) favorite adventure was just outside our back door and across our driveway from Peggy's back door ? a very big pin oak tree, which almost touched the sky - really. I'd give my Tarzan yell and immediately Peggy appeared and up we'd climb ? and climb. We could see Kings Highway, the Shrine Hospital, Army maneuvers during the war, which we saluted, counted the planes flying over us and could see if Arla Jo was at home - half way down the block. We might eat our lunch sandwiches up there if Mother was not at home. It was all Kiki's fault if we were caught. The two of them probably died laughing after we were reprimanded.

The worst mishap of those precious 90 days was the possibility of getting sick - bad sick or just a slight fever. Polio was rampant and at the slightest indication - a fever or sore throat - we were to serve time by ourselves until we were declared very well. We were also faced with measles, mumps and chicken pox.

But playing outside was pure heaven. To name a few: kick the can, hide and seek, badminton in our backyard, also croquet, dodge ball, softball (remember scrub?), riding bicycles, hopscotch, swinging, marbles, catching lightning bugs, playing in the rain or filling a washtub with rain water, making mud pies, sandbox with the Boutté boys, biking to the store for Mother or Kiki, during the war we planted a Victory Garden, looking for four-leaf clovers and making necklaces out of the poms, and, if nothing else, go climb a tree and watch the world go by.

There were always rainy days, so we gathered on our front porch for Monopoly, jacks, dominos, Chinese checkers, Go Fish, game boards galore, and if all else failed - "Go read a book, Joanne!" Also on some rainy days I enjoyed playing paper dolls, Tinker Toys, puzzles, any kind of dolls, yo-yoing, solitaire, talking on the phone - 75350 -harassing my sister, being sent to my room ... heck, I had fun doing anything.

Playing alone is where imagination was born. Swinging, I was Mrs. Tarzan. Up high in my tree I was on the top sail of a huge ship in the Atlantic Ocean. Lying on my bed on the back porch I was on an island enjoying listening to the birds, but being interrupted by Kiki or Mother brought me back to William Street.

Hope I haven't bored you with my summer memories. My reason is that I turned onto a street the other afternoon and there was a group of young boys and girls playing - OUTSIDE! I had to stop and watch and wanted so badly to be invited to play but I was ignored. All these words written today are the collection of all my early summers days memories as I sat in the car waiting for the light to change.

Three months? Ninety days? Obviously not enough time to accommodate the games, adventures, etc., we looked forward to enjoying. We took our play seriously, learning to share, play by the rules, be a good winner/loser, helping our younger friends and cleaning up after ourselves. We played hard from sunup to sundown, ate dinner at each others' houses, were disciplined by all mothers and obeyed their rules.

During these 90 days of each year we probably learned more about ourselves, our friends, our parents and our Kikis. They are part of our being because our past experiences prepare us for our present and give us courage to face our future. Having fun was definitely our No. 1 responsibility during those hot 90 days.

Happy memories to each of you.

Joanne Sigler lives in Shreveport.

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Remember When: Memories were made those summer days

Remember how simple living was when we were probably 7 to 12 years old? I'm not just referring to my age group but to most of my faithful readers. The word '